AREA HOUSING MARKET LOOKS STRONG -- STUDY

The housing market in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami metropolitan area is more stable than it has been in 20 years -- in both sales and product, according to Lomas & Nettleton's most recent U.S. Housing Markets survey. The market is not hot, just good, the mortgage banking firm notes.

In its projections, U.S. Housing Markets sees some 11,000 single-family permits being issued in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami area this year, which would be equal to last year and the 10-year average. At the same time, around 20,000 multi-family units are projected, mostly condominiums -- a figure which would equal that of last year, and be a third above the 10-year average.

The average house being marketed in the area is approximately 1,300 square feet, as compared to 1,800 square feet three to five years ago.

Stevenson Building & Design of Boca Raton has been chosen to design and build a showcase house for the Opus XII Designers' Tour to be held at Boca Grove Plantation Feb. 17 through March 30. Opus XII is a project of the Opus Society of the Philharmonic for the benefit of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida, formerly the Fort Lauderdale Symphony Orchestra and the Boca Raton Symphony Orchestra. The annual event raises money for the Philharmonic. Ground already has been broken for the sprawling 11,200-square-foot luxury home, which will include four bedrooms, six baths, a 1,632-square-foot master bedroom suite and an elaborate media room. The three-story, 20-room residence will feature Stevenson's unique turn-key design package that offers the homeowner everything from fine linens to chilled wine in its temperature-controlled wine closet.

Sanford Bacon, president of Boca Lakes Estates, Inc., which is developing the single-family home community of East Lake Boca in northeast Boca Raton, notes that eight houses are in various stages of completion in the development. Bacon, who has spent much of his life in Florida, says that "we spent over $1.3 million on such things as land planning, the lake, fill and dredging of waterways at East Lake Boca," where homes are priced from $158,000 to $169,000.

Bacon, who at one time operated a large ad agency in South Florida, said that the emphasis at East Lake Boca is on the homes, and not on a bunch of amenities. As a result, he said, "we don't have the problems of a country club or condominium community at East Lake Boca. People aren't forced into belonging to a club and facing the uncertainties which are ahead when the owners buy that club from the developer. In fact, I don't believe in providing community pools, tennis courts, clubhouses and the such. All they do is cause problems. And I don't want to build a community where they have problems.

"There is no zip code living here," Bacon added. "If buyers at East Lake Boca wish to belong to a club, there are many in the area which they can join. The important thing is that they aren't tied down to a specific club in their community, or saddled with the cost of keeping that club and its facilities operating." East Lake Boca is somewhat unique in that it is the only new single-family home community of any significance near U.S. 1 in the area from Boynton Beach south through Broward County, where homes are being marketed for under $200,000.

K. Hovnanian Companies, active in the Palm Beach County housing market, will be the corporate sponsor of this year's Leukemia Society of the Palm Beaches Super Swim Classic. The fifth annual event, a major yearly fund raiser for the charitable organization, takes place at 11 area pools during the week of Sept. 21 through Sept. 27. Last year, 350 swimmers participated, raising nearly $30,000 for the local chapter.

The eye-catching Wharfside at Boca Pointe shopping complex on Powerline Road in Boca Raton has scheduled a preview for late fall, according to Henrietta Frankel, vice president of The Frankel Group, Inc., the developer. The 90,500- square-foot Mediterranean-themed shopping village, is expected to be open for the coming holiday season.

"Reports of a housing slowdown are premature and greatly exaggerated," says John J. Koelemij, president of the National Association of Home Builders. "Conventional mortgage interest rates have stabilized in the 12 per cent range, down from 13.5 per cent rates a year ago. Lower interest rates, along with strong demand for housing in many parts of the country, should keep home sales nationally at a high level through the second half of 1985."